Navy chief: Iran will soon form alliance with Saudi Arabia, other regional states

In an interview with the national television, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said the regional countries had today reached the conclusion that security can be established in the region solely “through convergence and collective cooperation.”

To that effect, new regional and trans-regional alliances are in the making, said Irani.

Aside from Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Pakistan and India are willing to join the naval alliance with Iran, the Navy commander added.

The news follows a historic reconciliation agreement reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia on the back of mediation efforts by Iraq, Oman and China.

Iran’s ties with Persian Gulf countries have since been growing rapidly.

A regional alliance including Iran will fly in the face of American attempts over the past few years to unite the region under a naval coalition, which many believed worked against the Islamic Republic.

Only two days earlier, the UAE announced that it was withdrawing from the US-led maritime coalition after an extensive evaluation of its security needs, in what observers described as a pivotal moment in the region’s geopolitical landscape.